Baumgartner announces committee work session on return of Sonics

January 25, 2017

Tomorrow’s meeting of the Commerce, Labor and Sports Committee will dig into the process of bringing an NBA team back to Seattle. The committee chair, Sen. Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, announced plans to study the Legislature’s role in securing an arena for the return of the Sonics in a committee work session.

“I’m a big supporter of bringing back the Sonics,” said Baumgartner. “The team has relevance to the entire state and it’s been a while since the Legislature has looked at the issue. With the Seattle city government bogging down on it, I think there may be some ways the Commerce, Labor & Sports Committee can help.”

The committee work session begins at 1:30 pm in Senate Hearing Room 4 with expected testimony from local government officials and advocates such as Wally Walker, former Sonics player and executive, and Brian Robinson, founder of Sonics Rising.